As football season creeps closer, many who weren’t paying close attention during the offseason are realizing that the new kickoff rule comes with a major change.
The surprise onside kick is dead and gone.
Many are acting as if that’s new. It’s not. It was a clear and obvious part of the rule change that the league adopted in late March.
All onside kicks will be announced in advance, since the onside kick will entail an entirely different formation. Also, onside kicks can’t happen until the fourth quarter. And only the team that is trailing can perform them.
While the pre-2024 efforts to minimize the kickoff had made it harder for onside kicks to be recovered, the possibility of a surprise onside kick lingered. Now, it won’t. It can’t happen, ever.
It’s one of the only rule changes that restrict the options that teams previously had. Twice in the last 30 years (Cowboys-Steelers and Saints-Colts), successful surprise onside kicks happened in the Super Bowl.
Still, the league believes it’s a fair trade. More kickoff returns in exchange for no possibility ever and under any circumstances of a surprise onside kick.
Regardless, those who didn’t realize this consequence to the new kickoff formation in March are figuring it out now. And many apparently don’t like it.
The good news is that the new formation was adopted as a one-year experiment. To continue it in 2025, another 24 votes of the 32 owners will be needed to keep it going.